The auction process is a “speedy, efficient mechanism for deploying spectrum” that has brought the govt. $26.8 billion while promoting the broadest possible participation, according to a letter the FCC wrote in July to House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) and provided to us. The FCC was responding to 20 questions on spectrum auctions submitted by Rep. Rush (D-Ill.) arising from a May 26 hearing on the draft House DTV bill (CD May 27 p1). Rush wanted in-depth information on FCC management of the auction process to determine how quickly the govt. can log revenue and see if changes were needed to widen participation by minorities and small businesses in the bidding process.
The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to mark up its DTV bill in Sept., Senate sources say. It’s likely the bill will be part of a budget reconciliation package to be sent to the Senate Budget Committee. The DTV bill would enable Commerce to meet its $4.8 billion net revenue goal under through revenue from spectrum auctions. Committee sources wouldn’t comment on the timing or content of the bill except to say the drafting process is under way. Lobbyists familiar with the negotiations said some type of analog TV conversion subsidy provision is likely to be included in the legislation. Meanwhile, Telemundo sent a letter to Sen. Hutchinson (R-Tex.) urging the inclusion of a multicast provision in the legislation.
The Aug. 4 FCC meeting agenda includes a reconsideration order revising an Oct. 2003 advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum band plan, according to an agency source. The order, originally set for the July meeting (CD June 20 p1), was held off by the Chmn. Martin’s office due mainly to complications from designated entity (DE) issues raised by Council Tree Communications in late filings, several sources said.
The Senate Commerce Committee’s DTV hearing today (Tues.) is a long-awaited public airing of complex issues befogged in political uncertainty. The committee is seen as balancing the immediate need to raise revenue from spectrum auctions against a potential public backlash if the analog TV signal cutoff stumbles. The panel is holding the hearing despite lack of a draft bill, expected to be ready by the July 4 recess but is still in development, according to committee staffers.
Spectrum policy is getting more scrutiny in Congress in light of the 2007 expiration of auction authority, Congressional Research Service analyst Linda Moore said in a report for Congress. Some have questioned the system’s efficacy. Despite the FCC’s conclusion that auctioning spectrum licenses has sped deployment of new wireless technologies, many ask if the FCC shouldn’t augment auction policy “more aggressively” with other market- driven solutions such as licensing fees.
A scaled-back DTV provision setting a hard transition date of Jan. 1, 2009, and authorizing spectrum auction authority will be part of the budget bill to be voted on in mid-Sept., Hill sources say. The budget vote is expected to be close, due to discord over President Bush’s tax cuts -- the budget resolution passed 52-47 in the Senate and 214-211 in the House. Should it not pass, Congress would enact a continuing resolution with a specific time frame to keep the budget operating at the same level as the previous year until a new budget is approved, sources say.
FCC hopes to circulate a draft order this week revising an Oct. 2003 advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum band plan, an FCC source said. The new 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz band plan urged by the Wireless Bureau incorporates parts of proposals by T-Mobile and the Rural Telecom Group (RTG), and Verizon Wireless, the source said. The order, expected to be scheduled for the July 14 FCC meeting, also would resolve other issues raised in reconsideration petitions.
Council Tree Communications urged the FCC to “repair, improve and ultimately preserve” designated entity (DE) incentives in advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum auctions. Council Tree asked the Commission to: (1) Raise from 25% to 35% the maximum DE bidding credit offered in AWS auctions. (2) Provide an additional 10% bidding credit for DEs that serve underserved populations. (3) Not allow large incumbent wireless carriers to have any material investment, financial or operating relationship with a DE if they have licenses with material geographic overlap. (4) Not allow individuals with a net worth exceeding $3 million to have a controlling interest in a DE. “These proposals will ensure that DE benefits are limited and applied only where needed, and will provide meaningful entry points for new competition in the wireless industry,” Council Tree said, adding the proposals can be implemented “on a non-disruptive basis well in advance of the first AWS auction” expected in mid- 2006.
The Senate Commerce Committee announced Thurs. it plans a hearing June 29 on DTV spectrum auctions, but it isn’t certain whether a draft bill will be completed and introduced as legislation before that date, a committee spokeswoman said. “We expect a draft bill by the end of the month,” the spokeswoman said.
Incumbent providers operating in the 900 MHz band urged the FCC to ensure “sufficient” protection for their systems from harmful interference if the Commission moves forward with a proposal to facilitate the band’s more flexible use. They want the agency to ensure that licensees don’t face interference such as that which required the remedies adopted in the 800 MHz interference proceeding. The incumbents, which are site-specific licensees, generally opposed the geographic market area licensing the FCC proposed. They said it would cause commercial systems to proliferate at the expense of continued licensing of critical infrastructure, industrial and land transportation systems.